WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF GRANTING WISHES?

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We are on a quest to bring every eligible child’s wish to life, because wishes are an important part of a child’s treatment journey. Wishes provide kids hope when they need it most, and research shows they have effects on children’s overall well-being and health outcomes.

In fact, wishes have proven physical and emotional benefits that can give children with critical illnesses a higher chance of survival. When a wish is granted, a child replaces fear with confidence, sadness with joy and anxiety with hope.

The Dr. Patel Wish Impact Study

We’ve known anecdotally about the transformational power of a wish, and now a first-of-its-kind study from Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) is opening the door to possibilities of medical and financial benefits.

A team of researchers, led by Anup Patel, MD, director of the Complex Epilepsy Clinic at NCH, examined quality of life and health care utilization among patients who received a wish and a control group who did not. The study found patients who were granted a wish were more likely to have fewer unplanned hospital and emergency department visits.

More Than Medicine

When children are battling a critical illness, so much of normal childhood is taken away from them — it is exhausting, both emotionally and physically. A Wish is something that gives kids the opportunity to look outside their illness — it restores a sense of childhood back to the child and normalcy back to the family.

Research shows, and physicians agree, wishes can help improve a child's quality of life and produce better health outcomes. Members of the Make-A-Wish Medical Advisory Committee share the life-changing impact wishes have — beyond just medicine — on their patients and their families.

Medical professionals see the power of wishes first-hand and are driving referrals to an all-time high across our chapter. But, it’s funding that determines the rate at which we are able to grant wishes.

With support from generous donors, dedicated volunteers and valuable partners in the medical community, each wish can become a reality. With your gift of time or money, we’ll move closer to granting the wish of every eligible child when they need it most.